Reliquary by Sarah Fine, Book 1 of Reliquary series

Mattie Carver’s engagement party should have marked the start of her own personal fairy tale. But when her fiancé, Ben, is violently abducted the next morning, her desperate quest to find him rips her away from small-town life and reveals a shattering truth: magic is real—and Ben is hooked. It’s not the stuff of storybooks. It’s wildly addictive, capable of producing everything from hellish anguish to sensual ecstasy almost beyond human endurance.Determined to find out who took Ben and why, Mattie immerses herself in a shadowy underworld and comes face-to-face with the darkly alluring Asa Ward, a rogue magic dealer, infamous hustler…and her missing fiancé’s estranged brother. Asa has the power to sense magic, and he realizes Mattie is a reliquary, someone with the rare ability to carry magic within her own body, undetected. Asa agrees to help find Ben on one condition: Mattie must use her uncommon talent to assist his smuggling operations. Now, from magic-laced Vegas casinos to the netherworld clubs of Bangkok, Mattie is on a rescue mission. With Asa by her side, she’ll face not only the supernatural forces arrayed against her but the all-too-human temptation that she fears she can’t resist.

Reliquary by Sarah Fine is an adult fantasy novel that dives into the world of magic very differently than what we are use to on TV or other fantasy novels. It's not witchcraft type, but rather delve deep into the emotions of people. The four types of magic includes emotions, manipulation, pain and pleasure. In the Reliquary world, people can get addicted to magic, just like Mattie's fiancé, Ben. I like the premise of this world in a story. It relates very much to what reality and the addiction of such actions or emotions can lead to in real life. There are those that manipulates others to do what they wish for them to do, and there are those that let pleasure run their life.

The author's characterizations and their developments are strong. From Mattie to Asa to Ben, readers are invested. Be it they love them, annoyed by them or just simply dislike them, each one evokes a reaction. In truth, I can't stand Ben. He is sketchy from the get-go. And Mattie? I need to do a Gibbs' head-slap on her. Asa, the one that gives off the impression of a bad boy who doesn't care squat? Well, he is the most "real" of them all. Not to say Mattie isn't. Her decisions and her weaknesses all speaks true of those who can't leave a broken and painful situation. Doesn't mean I'll like it.

In all, I do believe the story have merit and the plot does carry through. However, certain scenes with BDSM doesn't seem to warranted, but only to bring out readers' reactions. Though mature is true, there are no sex scenes, but rather emotionally intimate scenes. There may be allusions, but not explicitly noted. Characters strong, plot moving and romance that will get you riled up, Reliquary is quite the start of a series.

For my clean readers, as noted in my review, there are mature content (BDSM), but no sex or overtly sexual scenes. There are languages to be aware of, though.

NOTE: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Wunderkind PR for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. For my review policy, please see my Disclosure page.

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Sarah Fine was born on the West Coast, raised in the Midwest, and is now firmly entrenched on the East Coast. When she's not writing, she's working as a child psychologist. No, she is not psychoanalyzing you right now.